Legal News 11/2014

The naked, knife-wielding madman who went on a bloody rampage in his own Washington Heights building nearly three years ago -fatally stabbing two neighbors and injuring three others – was legally insane, his defense lawyer argued Friday during ...(Nov 1, 2014, New York Post)

Cheryl Carpenter, a lawyer for Theodore Wafer, who was convicted in August of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Renisha McBride, 19, also denied that racial profiling was a factor in the shooting. McBride was shot after ...(Nov 1, 2014, The Root)

'Lawyer for the dead' unearths El Salvador's sadistic violence in quest for ...

Iowa Democrats have chosen a tough row to hoe with trial lawyer Bruce Braley, who is running for the U.S. Senate in mostly rural Iowa. Braley was heard denigrating farmers, and now, a closing TV ad slams the candidate, saying that God does not need a ...(Nov 1, 2014, Breitbart News)

Freaked out gym-goers want Ebola nurse's lawyer banned

Members of her lawyer's Manhattan gym nearly got into a physical fight over whether he should be banned. Spies at Equinox Sports Club on Columbus Avenue told us that at 6:30 a.m. Friday, two gym members were locked in a loud spat over whether civil ...(Nov 2, 2014, Page Six)

Former Urban League employee was paid back wages, lawyer for league says

Cooper wrote that he repeatedly tried to contact Teixeira's lawyer, Paul V. Sullivan, about the dismissal stipulation, but Sullivan never responded to his calls or letters. “I had assumed that he had agreed that it was dismissed since there was no ...(Nov 2, 2014, The Providence Journal)

Lawyer: Iranian-British Woman Gets Year in Prison

An Iranian-British woman detained while trying to attend a men's volleyball game has been sentenced to one year in prison, her lawyer said Sunday. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told The Associated Press that a court found Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, guilty ...(Nov 2, 2014, ABC News)

El Salvador's 'lawyer for the dead'

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A hundred yards below a private cemetery where generals have gathered for a military funeral, ghostly figures in white protective suits are digging up a clandestine grave next to a fetid river. It is painstaking labor ...(Nov 2, 2014, USA TODAY)

Lawyer for Maine murder suspect in plea talks

The lawyer for a 21-year-old Lewiston man charged in the 2013 stabbing and strangulation death of another 21-year-old says he's talking with prosecutors about a possible plea agreement. William True mugshot (Photo: WCSH). CONNECT 2 ...(Nov 2, 2014, WCSH-TV)

Solo Lawyer Starts Sideline: Landlord To Others

Although he's heard of large firms renting out their extra space, Miller said he doesn't know of any other attorneys or law firms that have purchased a building with the intention of renting out offices and creating a work environment geared toward ...(Nov 2, 2014, CBS Local)

The election is upon us and there's one thing certain; there are going to be close races. And close races means that armies of lawyers for both sides will descend on courtrooms across the country to challenge the results. There will also be the usual ...(Nov 2, 2014, PJ Media)

Lawyer by trade, long-distance endurance runner by desire

Leor Pantilat puts on a suit on weekdays and goes to work as a corporate lawyer in Palo Alto. But when weekends arrive, he grabs his running shoes, jumps in his car and goes to the mountains. This is what he lives for. His destination could be one of ...(Nov 3, 2014, SFGate)

Financier continuing to harass Swedish beauty, her lawyer says

The efforts by the CEO of the New York Global Group are aimed at getting Bouveng, 24, to drop her $850 million lawsuit, the woman's lawyer, David Ratner, says in an Oct. 24 letter to federal Judge Paul Gardephe. Gardephe blasted Wey, 42, in August for ...(Nov 3, 2014, New York Post)

Thai tourist murder suspects accuse police of torture: lawyer

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A lawyer representing two Myanmar men charged with the murder of two British tourists in Thailand said on Monday that their families have asked Thai authorities to investigate allegations of torture. The bodies of British tourists ...(Nov 3, 2014, Reuters)

Lawyer: Joran van der Sloot stabbed twice in prison

Joran van der Sloot, a key suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba, was stabbed and seriously injured in the Peruvian prison where he is serving 28 years for murder, according to his lawyer and his wife. Peruvian ...(Nov 3, 2014, USA TODAY)

Dutch killer van der Sloot stabbed in prison, lawyer claims

Joran van der Sloot&#39;s wife says her husband was &quot;seriously injured&quot; in a stabbing at the Peruvian prison where he is serving time for murder, but a top prison official is calling her account an outright lie, according to reports. Leidy ...(Nov 3, 2014, Yahoo News)

Lawyer: Judge Will Quit If He Wins Tuesday

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) – The Royal Oak city attorney has told officials that a local judge plans to resign if he wins re-election. The Macomb Daily and The Detroit News report that District Judge Terrance Brennan has been off the bench since Oct. 8. In ...(Nov 3, 2014, CBS Local)

Lawyer for Wisconsin native learned of execution order in news article

Hayward native Scott Panetti learned of his Dec. 3 execution date two weeks after the order had been signed when one of his lawyers read about it in a newspaper article, a motion filed Monday in Texas alleges. "It was appalling to pick up the newspaper ...(Nov 3, 2014, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Lawyers Can Respond to Blog Inquiries About Representation

I am a young, computer-literate lawyer. I am starting a blog where people can interact with me. If an individual responds to something I say in my blog and it is clear he or she needs legal representation, can I communicate and interact with him or her ...(Nov 3, 2014, The Legal Intelligencer)

Q&A: Food Safety Lawyer Bill Marler on What Not to Eat

Where you see food—a rare hamburger, a salad with alfalfa sprouts, a slice of cantaloupe—Bill Marler sees pathogens. A name partner at Seattle's Marler Clark, he has represented victims in every major food poisoning outbreak for three decades ...(Nov 3, 2014, The National Law Journal (registration))

Candidate Comparison: Tea party favorite vs. trial lawyer in Iowa

Background: Lawyer up! According to his online bio, Braley was shaped by his upbringing in a working family in rural Iowa. When he was a child, his father was severely injured in a fall at the grain elevator where he worked. Braley grew up to become a ...(Nov 3, 2014, Legal News Line)

Small town, big lawyer: Rusty Hardin gives Adrian Peterson major edge

CONROE, Texas – Here in the land of barbecue joints, strip malls and Tea Party politics, attorney Rusty Hardin is getting ready to do what he does best – ride to the rescue of another famous athlete. He's got another tricky case. His client, NFL ...(Nov 3, 2014, USA TODAY)

Now his name is mud. Florida lawyer Jonathan Flom, who allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that his last name was an acronym for “For Love of Money,” pleaded not guilty to money laundering Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court. Alleged flimflammer Flom ...(Nov 3, 2014, New York Daily News)

NJ Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Robbing Elderly Clients

She was also charged with writing checks to herself from her interest on lawyers trust account. According to the state, Lieberman also regularly presented seminars on wills, living wills and end-of-life affairs for seniors citizens in Atlantic County ...(Nov 3, 2014, New Jersey Law Journal)

D.C. Lawyer Found Bound, Gagged and Strangled to Death in Dominican ...

D.C. Lawyer Found Bound, Gagged and Strangled to Death in Dominican ...(Nov 3, 2014, NBC4 Washington)

Two veteran lawyers tapped for Frein case

Eric Frein will get a legal team with decades of murder trial experience, including a lawyer who has both prosecuted and defended death penalty cases. The Pike County Public Defender's Office on Monday confirmed that a judge had appointed Robert ...(Nov 4, 2014, Philly.com)

Queens man sentenced up to 50 years for posing as a lawyer, investment adviser

A Queens man who bilked clients out of $5 million while posing as a lawyer and investment adviser was sentenced Monday to up to 50 years in prison, authorities said. Mohammed Rafikian, 54, who prosecutors say conned seven people between 2000 and ...(Nov 4, 2014, New York Daily News)

My Lawyer, My Friend: A CEO's Guide to Working with an Attorney

Have you had more attorneys than exes? Do you regularly get: a) bad work, b) late work, c) oh-my-God-this-is expensive work or d) all of the above? Almost every business has the pleasure or torture of dealing with a variety of outside advisors, from ...(Nov 4, 2014, Huffington Post)

Lawyer asks to leave Dominick's case; judge says no

Jason Dominick's lawyer asked to withdraw from the convicted killer's case. The judge said no. Citing the need for a “fresh set of eyes” to review the case for appeal and a letter to the court from a Dominick family friend criticizing his ...(Nov 4, 2014, Scranton Times-Tribune)

Waukesha lawyer sues John Doe judge

A Waukesha lawyer has sued the judge who oversaw "John Doe I," the secret investigation into staff of Gov. Scott Walker when he was Milwaukee County Executive. The lawsuit contends some primary tools of the John Doe process - like search warrants ...(Nov 4, 2014, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Lawyer Accused Of Extorting Sex From Clients, Amateur Porn, Polygamy

In a new development in alternative fee arrangements, a lawsuit alleges that a lawyer specializing in drunk driving law pressured female clients — over a span of at least 10 years — into sex in exchange for promised discounts. And of course filming ...(Nov 4, 2014, Above the Law)

U.S. Lawyer Finishes Top 10 In 2014 NYC Marathon

In New York City, most corporate lawyers work on Sunday mornings. Instead, attorney Annie Bersagel went for a run. A very fast run. 26.2 miles in 2:33.02 to be exact. Bersagel's time on Sunday morning was strong enough to place her tenth among all ...(Nov 4, 2014, Forbes)

Lawyer: NSA phone records program amounts to 'tyranny'

The U.S. National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone records within the country is an unprecedented violation of privacy by the government, a lawyer challenging the surveillance program argued Tuesday. A U.S. appeals court should hold up a ...(Nov 4, 2014, PCWorld)

Origami Condom Inventor Dropped by Second Lawyer

Origami condom inventor Daniel Resnic will now have to find a third lawyer to take up his case against accusations that he wasted millions of taxpayer dollars. The law firm representing Resnic, who received over $2.4 million from the National ...(Nov 4, 2014, Washington Free Beacon)

Meet Jeffrey Kessler, lawyer whose suit strikes fear in NCAA's heart

"I think if we go down the road of paying football and men's basketball players, as the agents and their agents, the trial lawyers, would like us to do ... we're going to be put in a situation as a series of enterprises that we're going to be forced to ...(Nov 4, 2014, CBSSports.com)

Reno lawyer: Firefighters trying to handcuff the city

Local governments across the state have a “major, major problem” if they are forced to undertake a lengthy arbitration process to lay off employees once they've run out of money to keep them employed, a lawyer for the city of Reno argued before the ...(Nov 4, 2014, Reno Gazette Journal)

Blount's lawyer asks McAuliffe for conditional pardon

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – The lawyer for a man serving six life terms plus 118 years for an armed robbery he committed as a teen has asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe for a conditional pardon. 10 On Your Side has followed the case of Travion Blount for more than ...(Nov 4, 2014, WAVY-TV)

Lena Dunham Lawyers Threaten Lawsuit Over Sex Abuse Story

Lawyers representing Lena Dunham have sent a letter demanding a conservative organization apologize for a story that infers the entertainer sexually molested her little sister when they were children. Read the letter here. The four-page letter ...(Nov 4, 2014, Hollywood Reporter)

University Place lawyer wanted for questioning in death investigation is missing

A University Place lawyer who was charged with first-degree theft earlier this year now is wanted for questioning in the death of a person whose body was found this weekend, police said Tuesday. Relatives last spoke to Donald Mansfield on Thursday and ...(Nov 5, 2014, TheNewsTribune.com)

Jameis Winston's Lawyer Posts Victim's Name on Twitter

An attorney for Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston posted the name of a woman who accused the football player of rape to his Twitter account on Tuesday. Winston was accused of rape in December 2012, but the officials declined to press ...(Nov 5, 2014, Jezebel)

Council lawyer on the ballot; Mosby expected to win

Baltimore voters cast ballots Tuesday on a measure that would allow the City Council to hire its own lawyer, a rare item of interest amid an otherwise humdrum lineup of mostly uncontested local races. For almost all of the offices in the overwhelmingly ...(Nov 5, 2014, Baltimore Sun)

Halloween crash victim was Irvine lawyer, devoted father

John Roger Alcorn and his 4-year-old son, John Lincoln, were inseparable. The 65-year-old Alcorn was a busy lawyer. But friends say he tried to spend as much time as possible with his son, including regular Saturday morning coffee with friends. He ...(Nov 5, 2014, Los Angeles Times)

A lawyer for NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones asked the Nevada Supreme Court to throw out an $11 million verdict against the defensive back for his role in a Las Vegas strip club shooting that injured two men, one of whom was paralyzed. “This is an ...(Nov 5, 2014, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Leonard B. Sokolove, 88, lawyer and Bucks County judge

"As a lawyer, he represented common people and could never bring himself to charge them enough to get really well-off," Michael said. "And sometimes he did not want to charge them at all, which is why it was my mother's job to send out the bills. "As a ...(Nov 5, 2014, Philly.com)

“As criminal lawyers we represent people who have committed heinous acts. Acts of violence. Acts of depravity. Acts of cruelty. Or as Jian Ghomeshi likes to call it, foreplay,” she said to the crowd of about 450 lawyers, including judges of both the ...(Nov 5, 2014, Toronto Star)